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This Week at First

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Third Sunday of Lent: This week, we focus on some specific warnings from God concerning how we live our lives. Our scriptures will be taken from 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Luke 13:1-9, and Isaiah 55:6-9. The message is titled “You’ve Been Warned!”


See you Sunday.


Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jim


1 Corinthians 10:1-13


Warnings from Israel’s History

10 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,[a] that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,  2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,  3 and all ate the same spiritual food,  4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.  5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.

 

6 Now these things occurred as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil as they did.  7 Do not become idolaters as some of them did; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.”  8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day.  9 We must not put Christ[b] to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents.  10 And do not complain as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.  11 These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down to instruct us, on whom the ends of the ages have come.  12 So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall.  13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

 


Luke 13:1-9


Repent or Perish

13 At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.  2 He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?  3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.  4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?  5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”

 

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none.  7 So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’  8 He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it.  9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”




Isaiah 55:6-9


6 Seek the Lord while he may be found,    call upon him while he is near;7 let the wicked forsake their way,    and the unrighteous their thoughts;let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,    nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,    so are my ways higher than your ways    and my thoughts than your thoughts.









9am Service:


10:30am Service:



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Second Sunday in Lent: We generally think of the biblical message as one of hope, love, and redemption, but a fuller reading of the message also provides warnings for those who are “enemies of the cross of Christ.” This week, our message will be “Blessings and Curses” based on Philippians 3:17-4:1 and Luke 13:31-35.


See you Sunday.


Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jim


Philippians 3:17-4:1


17 Brothers and sisters,[a] join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us.  18 For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears.  19 Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things.  20 But our citizenship[b] is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.  21 He will transform the body of our humiliation[c] that it may be conformed to the body of his glory,[d] by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.  4 1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters,[e] whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

 


Luke 13:31-35


The Lament over Jerusalem

31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.”  32 He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me,[a] ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work.  33 Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’  34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!  35 See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when[b] you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”









9am Service:



10:30am Service:





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First Sunday in Lent: What do we owe to God for all our blessings? Does this change in times of distress? As the Israelites were preparing to enter the promised land, this became a topic for Moses to address to the people (Deuteronomy 26:1-11). Jesus himself faced distress (Luke 4:1-13) and gave us a great example of faithfulness to God the Father. Based on these scriptures, our message will be “Giving God His Due.” This week’s 10:30 AM service will be extra special with the children of Noah’s Little Ark Christian Preschool providing some special music. Be sure to be present to support the kids and their families.


See you Sunday.


Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jim


Deuteronomy 26:1-11


First Fruits and Tithes

26 When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it,  2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name.  3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, “Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.”  4 When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God,  5 you shall make this response before the Lord your God: “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous.  6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us,  7 we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.  8 The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders;  9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.  10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.” You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God.  11 Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.

 



Luke 4:1-13


The Temptation of Jesus

4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,  2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished.  3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”  4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”

 

5 Then the devil[a] led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.  6 And the devil[b] said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.  7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”  8 Jesus answered him, “It is written,

‘Worship the Lord your God,    and serve only him.’”

 

9 Then the devil[c] took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,  10 for it is written,

‘He will command his angels concerning you,    to protect you,’

 

11 and

‘On their hands they will bear you up,    so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

 

12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”  13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.










9am Service:

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